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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22438885">Nival</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fencingfox/pseuds/ikigai'>ikigai (fencingfox)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>P/T Word of the Day [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek: Voyager</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, One Word Prompts, Wordcount: 500-1.000, shuttles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:48:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>999</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22438885</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fencingfox/pseuds/ikigai</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>adjective<br/>relating to or characteristic of a region of perpetual snow</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tom Paris/B'Elanna Torres</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>P/T Word of the Day [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1613410</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Nival</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>There's a lot of snowed in P/T. I had some trouble coming up with what I think might be an original idea for them?? I have no idea; I haven't read everything but at least I haven't seen it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"It's good," B'Elanna shrunk further into her blanket as Tom's hand reached out toward her. "It's <i>good</i>. Leave it," she narrowed her eyes at him until he moved out of her personal space by shuffling to the other end.</p><p>"You're shivering."</p><p>B'Elanna adjusted the blanket closer to herself. The shuttle felt damned cold. It would help if she'd been allowed to keep her clothes. Who ever thought snow must exist should be gutted. Whoever made these itchy blankets should be doubly gutted.</p><p>"Hey, at least we got the shuttle," Tom remarked, chuckling to himself.</p><p>"I said that aloud?"</p><p>"You did," Tom said as he fished in the emergency compartment for anything else that could keep her warm. "Let me check you with the tricorder," he suggested.</p><p>"No," she snapped. It didn't matter that the tricorder would get the same information out of her whether she was dressed modestly or not. She didn't want Tom waving it around near her.</p><p>Tom shut the emergency compartment sharply. The metallic ring of the bulkhead reverberated throughout the shuttle. B'Elanna looked up. Tom leaned against the bulkhead, palms pressed over the emergency compartment. Practically in slow motion, he worked his jaw, balled his fists, sighed, uncurled his fingers, and shook his head.</p><p>He didn't look at her when he said, "I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable, I swear. I need to monitor your temperature. If I remember correctly, you're hitting stage two."</p><p>It sounded absurd to B'Elanna, "Stage two?"</p><p>"Irritability and confusion."</p><p>She barked a laugh. "I'm not confused. And I'm always irritable. I'm <i>fine</i>."</p><p>"No, you're not. Let me scan you."</p><p>B'Elanna eyed him skeptically. As if she were no longer in her body but floating above it, she saw herself. Her own shuddering form reminded herself of a skittish cat. As fast as she'd left, she came back. B'Elanna looked away from Tom, hunkering back into the blanket, "Fine."</p><p>"Thank you," Tom exasperated. "I'm really not a bad guy." She kept her eyes averted but heard Tom move about <i>Sacagawea</i>'s cabin. After a moment, he crouched in front of her. She didn't have to like looking at him. The disinterested expression she plastered to her face might have been convincing without the shivering breaking her resolve repeatedly.</p><p>Tom ran the handheld scanner across B'Elanna. She tensed when his hand and the scanner passed the edge of her blanket. If the change showed on the tricorder, Tom didn't point it out. "Why did you volunteer?" he asked casually without once looking up from the tricorder readings.</p><p>B'Elanna studied him, but she got no insight from it. "Harry wouldn't shut up about how amazing snow was," she answered as she looked beyond Tom toward the forward window. Snow mounded over every surface outside. Fast-moving sheets of delicate snow broke up the blue-gray sky in uneven and haphazard patterns. She'd only seen something so beautiful in pictures.</p><p>Tom laughed, "That's not what I expected."</p><p>B'Elanna's attention snapped back to Tom, worried that something was seriously wrong with herself. "What is it?" She couldn't see the tricorder's readout, heightening her concern.</p><p>"Relax," Tom instructed calmly. "I'm surprised Harry never warned you how cold snow is," his eyes narrowed as he pulled the scanner away, "especially if you let it melt on you." He didn't house the scanner though.</p><p>"I didn't <i>let</i> it melt. I didn't <i>know</i> it melted." Her hands tightened on the edges of the blanket. "There's a difference." She frowned when she caught sight of Tom waving the scanner over her body again. "Will you <i>quit</i> that!" If she could move without dislodging the blanket, she'd snatch the tools from him and toss them into the snow somehow. Let <i>him</i> fall in and get melted snow on him! "You already scanned me. How many more times do you need to do that?"</p><p>"I'm not even touching you," he added, "Relax." She couldn't relax. She didn't trust others as easily as Harry did. Add that to Chakotay's hostility toward <i>Voyager</i>'s new pilot and she had plenty reason not to relax around Tom. "I'm just monitoring your progress." Tom met her glare with his own. "The way this works: if you're rude, I'll be rude too. And since I'm the only one around to help you, it's in your best interest to be nice."</p><p>After an eternity that realistically only lasted fifteen seconds, B'Elanna relinquished her glare. She noted distractedly that Tom ran another scan of her. Her prior outbursts added weight to her sleepiness. She let her eyes close.</p><p>"Hey," Tom patted her shoulder over the blanket. B'Elanna didn't notice that she'd leaned toward the warmth. Tom noticed. He set the tricorder aside and rolled forward from his crouch to kneel at B'Elanna's left. He wrapped his arms around her, "Don't fall asleep on me. You're too cold yet."</p><p>After a moment, B'Elanna blinked wearily. When she realized she had shifted away from the cold bulkhead to lean against Tom's chest, she straightened.</p><p>Tom's arms fell away as he apologized, "Sorry."</p><p>B'Elanna pressed her right side into the bulkhead. The cold from the metal already seeped into her shoulder. "It's okay," she muttered.</p><p>"<i>Com... to shu... ...gawea</i>"</p><p>Tom moved the length of the cabin to accept the call, slipping into the pilot chair as he did. "Lieutenant Paris reporting from shuttle Sacagawea."</p><p>"<i>...thing alright? Hard... hear...</i>"</p><p>"There's a blizzard outside. Torres got caught in it and we have limited power. We need help as soon as you can bring it."</p><p>"<i>Help... on... way.</i>" Tom turned back to B'Elanna and noticed her eyes were closed again. Swearing, he left his chair as the signal puttered into static.</p><p>"Wake up." Tom sat beside her and touched her shoulder. She mumbled incoherently. Tom swore. If she lives, she'll hate him. Tom coaxed B'Elanna to lean against him. When she came back around, she pretended she hadn't noticed the change. Tom made a good heater. She'll stay until help arrived. Perhaps, he wasn't so bad.</p>
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